Hulu Launches (Mostly) Ad-Free Subscription Tier

Hulu launched an alternative subscription service Wednesday sans commercials in the programming–but with some notable exceptions. The new offering costs $12 per month, four more dollars than the existing Hulu service, which will remain available. However, seven prominent broadcast TV series including ABC’s “Scandal” and Fox’s “New Girl” will still be preceded by a 15-second preroll ad and followed by a 30-second post-roll ad.

Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins chalked up the exceptions to rights held by studios on select series. “They have other commitments that they couldn’t free them up for a complete commercial-free offering,” he said, adding that the service will clearly delineate the exceptions to users before they stream those series.

Other series that will have pre-roll include four ABC series: “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Agents of Shield,” and an NBC series, “Grimm.”

Hulu is making the move in response to subscriber complaints voiced in various forms of consumer research about having to pay yet still watch ads. Earliers this month, a Parks Associates survey found that half of Hulu subscribers have canceled service over the past 12 months, compared to just 9% for Netflix over the same span.